The New England Patriots are back in the win column. On Thursday night they snapped a five-game losing streak, beating the Pittsburgh Steelers 21-18 at Acrisure Stadium.
In a season that has become more about draft position than in-game results, this win drew mixed reactions. The reality is, it shouldn’t.
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First off, making losing a habit is never a good thing. That’s a slippery slope to go down. Even in a down season, maintaining overall organizational direction is important.
As for the 2024 pick itself, this loss is hardly a backbreaker. The Patriots are still where they were entering the night, in position for the second overall pick. That’s thanks to a significant edge in the strength of schedule tiebreaker with the Arizona Cardinals.
Finally, it’s simply too soon to declare this win is catastrophic for the Patriots’ draft position. Last year, the Houston Texans winning two of their final three games to fall out of the top pic was seen as a disaster. Yet picking second overall and landing C.J. Stroud ended up being the best thing that could have happened for them.
Draft pick aside, what did we learn from this game? Let’s get to tonight’s takeaways…
Player of the game
Dec 7, 2023; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; New England Patriots running back Ezekiel Elliott (15) runs on his way to scoring on a touchdown pass against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the first quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
This was a throwback performance from Ezekiel Elliott. With DeVante Parker, Demario Douglas, and Rhamondre Stevenson all out it was clear the Patriots were going to need to lean on Zeke, and lean on him they did.
Elliott finished with 68 yards rushing on 22 carries, and 72 receiving yards on seven catches with a touchdown. His 140 yards from scrimmage are the most by a Patriots player in a game this season.
Stylistically, Elliott took a physical approach to a physical Steelers defense. The body blows he delivered appeared to make an impact throughout the game, weakening an already-depleted Steelers defensive front.
Most importantly though, Elliott make things easier for Bailey Zappe, who was making his second start of the season. Elliott found hidden yardage, often got himself open as a safety valve, and even made a tackle that prevented Zappe from throwing a pick-six.
The question is, can the 28-year-old continue to provide performances like this moving forward? They’ll be needed, with Stevenson expected to miss multiple weeks.
Zappe shines
Dec 7, 2023; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Bailey Zappe (4) throws on the run against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the third quarter at Acrisure Stadium. New England won 21-18. Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Speaking of Bailey Zappe, he was much improved in his second start of the year. In a performance that was highlighted by a strong start, he completed 19 of his 28 passes for 240 yards with three touchdowns and one interception.
The biggest thing that stood out with Zappe in this game was his ball placement. When throwing the ball down the field early, Zappe repeatedly put throws in spots where only his receivers could make a play. His second touchdown pass to Hunter Henry, just before halftime, may have been the best throw by a Patriots quarterback this year. Credit goes to those guys too for making those plays (will get to them more in a bit) but this was a real display of chemistry between quarterback and pass catcher. The impact of Zappe having two weeks of practice as the full-time starter showed.
In the second half the Patriots ramped things back, and Zappe relied much more on check downs. That half also featured his biggest blemish on a near pick-six when targeting JuJu Smith-Schuster. Zappe tried to fit the ball into a tight window only to have it deflected and picked. It was the kind of throw that Zappe struggled with in the summer. While a quarterback heat check isn’t always a bad thing, we’ll keep an eye on what Zappe learned from that throw, and if he tries to test similar windows going forward.
Overall this game was a positive for Zappe, coming off of a negative this week. Two games isn’t nearly enough of a sample size to judge a quarterback one way or the other, but for now he’ll play somewhat of a ‘tiebreaker’ game next week against the Chiefs.
Pass catchers do their part
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA – DECEMBER 07: Wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster (7) of the New England Patriots celebrates after a reception in the first quarter against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium on December 07, 2023 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
As mentioned above, the Patriots’ veteran wide receivers made as much of an impact as they have all year. Bailey Zappe gave them chances, and they capitalized. This was all despite Zappe not having his favorite target in DeVante Parker, who was ruled out before the game.
The biggest example of this was the performance of JuJu Smith-Schuster. His highlight catch through contact on third down on the first drive was the biggest contributor to the team’s opening touchdown. He also had another long catch-and-run on his way to a four-catch, 90-yard performance. Those 90 receiving yards were the most by a Patriots player in a single game this season. In terms of his movement, Smith-Schuster looked at explosive as he has all year.
Hunter Henry did his part as well. He caught two touchdowns, with his first done a great display of climbing the ladder and high-pointing a ball Zappe left up for him.
There was also an interesting wide receiver dynamic in this game between Tyquan Thornton, who the Patriots selected 50th overall in the 2022 NFL Draft, and George Pickens of Pittsburgh who went two two picks later. Not selecting Pickens has been a common hindsight second-guess for Patriots fans.
Neither player made a big impact in this game, with both players turning in stunningly low yards per catch numbers. Thornton caught three passes for 17 yards, while Pickens had five catches for 19 yards.
Barmore creates problems
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA – DECEMBER 07: Christian Barmore #90 and Myles Bryant #27 of the New England Patriots sack Mitch Trubisky #10 of the Pittsburgh Steelers during the second half at Acrisure Stadium on December 07, 2023 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
Another game, another note in the takeaways that Christian Barmore was the Patriots’ most dominant player. He wreaked havoc throughout the game, with his impact extending well beyond the four tackles and half sack he was credited with.
One particular area Barmore stood out in was a defensive package the Patriots used on a number of their third downs. They had just Barmore and Keion White as down linemen, then blitzed from the secondary. That look led to both Jabrill Peppers’ interception as well as a key sack late in the game. In both instances, Barmore forced pressure through multiples blockers, often setting up plays for others if he didn’t make the play himself.
The biggest beneficiaries of those sets were Peppers, Kyle Dugger, and Myles Bryant. Dugger picked up his half a sack off of one of those plays, and Bryant recorded a tackle for a loss. It was a strong game for Bryant all around – he was constantly around the ball and making tackles. He also recorded a pass breakup.
J.C. Jackson struggles again
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA – DECEMBER 07: Diontae Johnson #18 of the Pittsburgh Steelers stiff arms J.C. Jackson #29 of the New England Patriots in the second half at Acrisure Stadium on December 07, 2023 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
This was another rough game for cornerback J.C. Jackson. He was flagged for a defensive pass interference and a hold, which were both ticky-tack but not inaccurate calls. Jackson was also in coverage on Diontae Johnson’s touchdown.
Coaching was a difference
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA – DECEMBER 07: Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Eddie Faulkner looks on before the game against the New England Patriots at Acrisure Stadium on December 07, 2023 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)
Last week, we highlighted how the Patriots’ late-game coaching decisions played a big part in their loss. This week they were on the other side of things, as Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh coaching staff made some questionable decisions down the stretch. That included burning timeouts early, as well as going very conservative on some fourth-quarter fourth down calls.
The biggest question mark though was from interim offensive coordinator Eddie Faulkner on the final drive of the game. The Steelers had a 3rd & 2 from midfield with 2:05 to go in the game, and just one timeout left. The Steelers could have run the ball on third, with the clock stopping after no matter what for the two-minute warning. Either the Steelers would have picked up the first down, or had the full two-minute warning to decide on a play.
Instead the Steelers put the ball in the hands of quarterback Mitch Trubisky, who struggled all night. They went deep on that third down, and then again on 4th & short. Both passes fell incomplete, and the Steelers wouldn’t get the ball back until there were 15 seconds left in the game. Their best chance to tie the game was squandered with those two decisions.
